Free Software For Students

Say a student asks me for advice about buying a new computer. He or she wants to have something powerful and portable and, very important, not too expensive. Lately I always find myself recommending the Macbook. It used to be the iMac, but the Apple laptops are so affordable these days and seriously capable. But what about the software? Isn’t mac software expensive? Well, it can be, but if you do a little research you will find out that there is a lot available, for free!

In this months edition of Wired Magazine I read a great story by Chris Andersen on how companies like Google offer so many great services for free. This doesn’t mean they are not making any money. They’re either making money on a different product they offer, or are investing in what might earn them money in a later state, like their GOOG-411 service. Read more

Do You Really Need A Car?

Today I was sitting in my car, annoyed while watching the traffic lights go red again before I passed them. This happens so many times, and every time I find myself grumbling and blaming the other drivers. Why didn’t they speed up a bit before me?

Then, while driving I was thinking about writing this post. I had some ideas but I couldn’t write them down, so I took my phone and started to look for the voice recorder function which appeared to be hidden somewhere far away in the menu. I though I found it, looked at the road in front of me and discovered I was almost driving on the wrong side with a car going the opposite direction coming dangerously close! Now that really made me think, does driving like this make me happy? Do I really need a car? Read more

Close All Those Browser Tabs!

How many browser tabs do you have open right now? Be honest. Are you going to have a look at all those websites today or will you keep the tabs open until you find some time to review them, maybe later this week?

Every morning I open my RSS reader (NewsFire in my case) and the feeds come pouring in. Great! Fresh content! I start hitting my spacebar and scanning the headlines. But then there’s a voice inside my head warning me, “if you’re going to read all these articles, it will take you more than an hour, are you willing to spend so much time this morning just reading what other people have to say? Don’t you have to start working?”. It’s good to have this built in warning system, but then what am I going to do, because I already started hitting that spacebar and reading the news? Read more

Post Number One. Welcome!

Welcome on board! This is Streamlined Mind. A blog about finding solutions to seemingly small problems that get in the way of a streamlined workflow. Streamlined Mind is mainly focused on students and solutions that are helpful to them, but the information given might be just as helpful for anyone else!

There are a lot of methods and tools available to help you getting organized, planning, finishing and presenting your projects, take notes, read and write well. Streamlined Mind will tell you about those tools to help you get your work done in a relaxed and fun way, because even writing a dissertation should be fun, right? Otherwise, why would you start writing it in the first place?
Sometimes work, especially assignments for school you didn’t ask for yourself, can feel heavy and daunting, but with the right planning and tools and a bit of good will, you can make any project fun and successful!

Photo by Timothy Lloyd